Comment Automattic and WP Engine now have the same problem (Score 1) 6
WordPress is basically designed, last I checked, to be entirely dependent on WordPress.org's infrastructure. That infrastructure is Matt's petty little fiefdom. That's how updates, plugins, themes, etc. are normally delivered to the users.
This is why WordPress should have created a real governance board a long time ago or formally submitted to the ASF or CNCF so that there'd be adults in the room who could punt someone like Matt if he decided to weaponize the FOSS infrastructure to punish a commercial rival.
This isn't even a license problem or anything like that. It's a simple case of one man who has way too much leverage over the entire ecosystem of a major FOSS project.